Received

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 80

Renters are hitching their belts even tighter than mortgage holders as rising prices erode their savings capacity.

Commonwealth Bank data suggests those aged between 25 and 29, who are likely facing sharp rental increases, are pulling back on spending more than any other group.

Young renters are also likely to be saving less than normal as high costs for food, energy and rent limit the amount they can squirrel away.

Fronting a parliamentary committee on Thursday, the leadership team of Australia's biggest bank outlined how different cohorts are responding to higher interest rates and cost of living pressures.

CBA chief executive Matt Comyn echoed his counterparts from Westpac, ANZ and NAB who said the number of households failing to make their repayment on time was still very low by historical standards.

But he said it was clear many households were under pressure, pulling back on discretionary spending and dipping into their savings.

While renters are hurting most, young home owners are also suffering, with one-third who bought during the pandemic reducing their spending more than 30 per cent year-on-year.

Those who own homes outright, older Australians, were recording the least financial strain, the CBA boss said.

Despite a clear deterioration in financial circumstances for customers, Mr Comyn said the strong labour market meant most were in a position to meet their mortgage repayments.

"The employment market remains very strong and the vast majority, almost all of our customers, continue to work," he said.

Westpac chief executive Peter King also reported resilience across most of its consumer and business customers.

"We recognise it will get harder from here and encourage customers to call us early if they need help," he said in an opening statement.

The Big Four banks control about 80 per cent of the Australian market but Mr King said the major players were losing customers to smaller competitors.

He said refinancing was at its highest point in 20 years and 17 per cent of Australians switched banks last year.

"It's the most competitive I've seen in my 30 years in banking."

On stress-testing borrowers, Mr Comyn said CBA was offering a lower serviceability buffer of one per cent to a small proportion of loans under a "very limited set of circumstances".

"We've recently adopted that and we're comfortable with that," he said.

"And we're not seeing that having a significant effect in terms of impact to customers."

Easing lending requirements has been up for discussion in the context of mortgage holders finding themselves unable to meet stress-testing requirements to refinance to a better deal.

Mr Comyn said the three per cent serviceability buffer, in general, remained "entirely reasonable" given the levels of uncertainty across the industry at the moment.

© AAP 2023

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 75

The phase-out of caged eggs will be on the menu at a meeting of the nation's agriculture ministers.

An independent review of animal welfare standards has recommended an end to the use of battery hens by 2036, but industry advocates want the deadline pushed back by a decade.

Egg Farmers of Australia warned the target would lead to higher egg prices and compensation claims from producers.

With the standards to be discussed at a ministerial meeting in Perth on Thursday, federal Nationals leader David Littleproud added to calls for an extension.

"Our egg farmers deserve support, not surprises, from state governments," he said.

"Farmers have made investment decisions worth millions of dollars, predicated on the current guidelines, believing they had until 2046."

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt flatly rejected suggestions a cage ban would trigger egg price hikes.

"I don't think that there is anywhere near the sort of likelihood of these kind of consequences that some industry groups and some politicians are carrying on about," he said.

"These people have a history of exaggerating and scaring people about things that just aren't real."

Senator Watt said the 2036 deadline gave the industry plenty of time to adjust.

"These are changes that are happening already that in some cases will come in sooner than what the governments are requiring," he said.

Caged hens make up half the nation's total egg production.

Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have agreed to phase out caged eggs from all the brands they sell by 2025.

Coles-branded eggs have been cage free since 2013, and Woolworths since 2015.

The review of animal welfare standards has been discussed by the agriculture ministers before and the states could still go their own way on caged eggs.

Jed Goodfellow from welfare group Animals Australia said it was disappointing a national code hadn't been secured.

"The whole process has taken eight long years, it's quite ridiculous," he told AAP.

"Much of the reason for that is that the industry has fought every step of the way not to agree to a phase-out timeline."

Dr Goodfellow urged ministers to agree to a national time frame.

"With the supermarket commitments to phase out the use of caged eggs in their own supply chains by 2025, it's very likely that the industry is going to be free of the battery cage system well before the 2036 timeline," he said.

Also on the meeting agenda is a shortfall of half a billion dollars in funding needed to combat the spread of the highly invasive fire ant.

© AAP 2023

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 82

A revolutionary anti-clotting drug has been described as a potential holy grail for stroke patients.

Decades in the making, the blood thinning drug TBO-309 has shown incredible promise in early research with potential to improve blood flow to the brain of stroke patients.

When used in conjunction with existing therapies it could reduce or even prevent brain injuries in the patients, Heart Research Institute professor Shaun Jackson says.

Prof Jackson says it could be the first stroke treatment breakthrough in more than three decades, allowing 90 per cent of patients increased early treatment options as the drug begins human trials.

"If this drug can improve blood flow to the brain, without causing excessive bleeding, it could be a game-changer," he said.

The trial will involve 80 patients in six Australian hospitals who will have the chance to take the drug with existing treatments when they come into emergency suffering stroke.

"The longer it takes you to get treatment, the worse off you will be," Prof Jackson says.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, affecting 16 million people worldwide every year.

To date, there has only been a single treatment called tPA which dissolves blood clots in the arteries of the brain during strokes.

But the institute's associate professor Simone Schoenwaelder says the current treatment was only effective in 10 per cent of stroke victims.

"The benefit of this novel anti-clotting drug is its unprecedented safety profile," she said.

Unlike other blood thinners, Prof Schoenwaelder says TBO-309's anti-clotting activity potentially comes without the risk of bleeding that can lead to further brain damage and death.

It belongs to a group of blood thinners including aspirin which has been deemed as an effective way to reduce the risk of heart attack in some patients.

"This drug could be that for stroke," Prof Jackson said.

© AAP 2023

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 74

HBO drama Succession, the story of a cutthroat fight for control of a family's media empire, has led the nominees for television's Emmy awards with 27 nods for the show's final season.

Nominations for the highest honours in television were announced as Hollywood was in the throes of labour tensions that may delay the Emmys ceremony beyond its normal September date. Film and TV writers walked off the job two months ago, and actors may strike as soon as Wednesday evening.

When the Emmys do take place, two-time best drama winner Succession will vie for the trophy again alongside fellow HBO show The Last of Us, a dystopian video-game adaptation that landed a second-best 24 Emmy nominations.

"Thank you to the Television Academy for sending us off in such style," said Succession supporting actor nominee Alan Ruck. The show about the dysfunctional Roy family ended its four-season run in May.

Others competing for best drama included HBO's Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, vacation-gone-wrong story The White Lotus and Star Wars series Andor. Previous nominees Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets and The Crown are also in the mix.

Ted Lasso, another double Emmy winner for best series, will compete for best comedy against Abbott Elementary, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Bear, Barry, Jury Duty, Only Murders in the Building and Wednesday.

Lasso was the most-nominated comedy with 21 nods.

For limited series, the list includes Netflix's Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Beef as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+. The White Lotus won the category last year but this year was moved to the drama race.

HBO, a unit of Warner Bros Discovery, outpaced all networks with 127 total nominations. Netflix landed 103 nods.

In acting categories, Succession patriarch Brian Cox will compete with two of his warring TV sons - Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin - for best drama actor. Sarah Snook, another Roy sibling, is considered the favourite to win best drama actress.

Previous Emmy winner Jason Sudeikis, co-creator and star of Ted Lasso, was nominated for best comedy actor for the third season of the fish-out-of-water story on Apple TV+.

First-time nominees Jeremy Allen White of The Bear and Jason Segel of Shrinking are also among those who will compete for best comedy actor.

In the comedy actress category, voters nominated Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan, Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson, Dead to Me actress Christina Applegate, Natasha Lyonne for her starring role in Poker Face and Jenna Ortega of Wednesday.

© RAW 2023